Been experimenting with rain teams lately, been having a lot of fun using a certain mon:
Toxicroak @ Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
Tera Type: Fairy/Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch/Knock Off
- Bulk Up
Used to use this bad boy in the days where Gen 8 OU was ran by Urshifu. Defensive Toxicroak understandably looks like a pretty weird set on paper. A defensive base stat spread of 83/65/65 isn't exactly stellar, after all, especially when compared to other defensive Poison types in the tier. Fellow Fighting/Poison type pokemon Okidogi, for instance, boasts a superior 88/115/86 defensive base stat spread while also sporting a high base atk stat of 128 compared to Toxicroak's 106. And on the offensive side, there is absolutely no plausible way that Toxicroak is competing with the likes of Sneasler. So why bother using such a seemingly lackluster mon such as Toxicroak in the current metagame?
In practice, defensive Toxicroak utilizes its unique combination of attributes, namely its Fighting/Poison typing and Dry Skin, to perform as a useful defensive component of rain teams that is able to check or counter several powerful threats within the tier, notably including quite a few mons that typically threaten rain team compositions. Essentially, Toxicroak is a fairly anti-meta and an anti-anti-rain mon, and while being exceedingly niche, it can fulfill its role of covering some of rain's weaker matchups rather well if given the chance.
To quickly discuss the set details, max hp and def EVs are used to maximize Toxicroak's physical bulk, allowing it to stomach hits as best it can. Dry Skin in conjunction with Leftovers allows Toxicroak to recover a notable 18% of its hp every turn, assuming Rain is active of course. This works well in tandem with Drain Punch recovery to keep Toxicroak healthy throughout the match. Gunk Shot is utilized to win matchups against mons such as Ogerpon-W and Rillaboom while also being a way to nail incoming switchins such as Zapdos hard, with the 30% chance to poison being also appreciated. Bulk Up is essential in allowing Toxicroak to muscle through possible defensive answers the opponent might have, most notably Gliscor. Finally, both Sucker Punch and Knock Off have their uses, with Sucker Punch providing useful priority and Knock Off being an invaluable tool to force progress by removing Leftovers and Heavyduty Boots from things like Great Tusk while also giving a way for Toxicroak to nail Ghost type switchins such as Gholdengo or Dragapult. While I've found Tera Fairy to be more consistent in giving Toxicroak better matchups against certain mons, such as Dragapult and Walking Wake, Tera Dark being able to provide STAB on Sucker Punch has also proven to be useful.
The way Toxicroak functions in a match is pretty much what one might expect: opponent sends a mon like Ogerpon-W or Rillaboom that Toxicroak can throttle, Toxicroak comes in and forces them out, then clicks Knock Off to force progress. Being able to switch in on the likes of Kingambit and stomach a hit and being able to outspeed and threaten with Drain Punch is exceptionally nice, especially considering how quickly Toxicroak recovers its hp. Toxicroak also provides a pretty stalwart answer to opposing rain teams, being able to keep physical rain sweepers such as Basculegion in check while still serving as a thorn in the side of special rain sweepers such as Specs Walking Wake thanks to Dry Skin. It additionally has a few more noteworthy matchups, being able to check mons such as Meowscarada, Greninja, and Clefable. Finally, Toxicroak's lack of notable significance within the OU metagame gives it the advantage of surprise, as the opponent is unlikely to know what exactly Toxicroak is supposed to do within the team composition. This may enable Toxicroak additional opportunities to set up Bulk Up, such as if the opponent believes they can force out Toxicroak with non-SD Gliscor.
Is Toxicroak a good mon? Probably not. But after using it a ton, I'd say it's at the very least on the fringe of viability, with its perhaps surprisingly capable defensive profile proving to be valuable on rain team compositions. Toxicroak of course still has a plethora of weaknesses; it's not excessively strong, nor is it monstrously bulky in the face of mons it doesn't naturally check, and it has quite a few losing matchups that just really suck. Moreover, it is deeply dependent on rain being up, and requires good team support to keep hazards on the field should it try to meaningfully try to force progress with Knock Off. Though while extremely niche, Toxicroak is pretty good at fulfilling this role of being a part of a rain team's defensive backbone.
